Sailing in the Outback Regatta 2012

Yesterday was such a fun day!  In fact this whole past week has been so relaxing and fun as I have been on vacation.  We finally made the trip to Tybee Island as I have been hoping to do for some time.  We toured the island one day, toured Savannah one day and enjoyed the beach as much as possible.  We only spent 3 nights which was not nearly enough but wanted to get home so we could  attend a yearly regatta at home with friends.

After motoring over to the host clubhouse for this event and for racing registration details

 we set sail with friends aboard their boat.

Here are a few of our club members that we went sailing with.

The two men in the middle of the photo here are our captains.  They co-own this boat together with their wives.  It's always a fun time to go out with them too.

This is my husband sitting here keeping an eye out before the race begins.

Several other boats already out and getting ready for the race.

Speaking of being ready!  There were only 8 of us on the boat and here is a picture of all the coolers we had on board.  My husband and I also had an additional rolling one filled with food.  We  were all amazed at how of all the coolers we brought no two were alike.  Too funny!

Before a race begins all boats have to jockey around each other waiting for the signal to start.  

We jokingly called this boat the cheater boat because it had two sails.

Sometimes you cannot help but get very close to other boats while you are sailing around in such a small area waiting to get started.  You can be penalized or disqualified for crossing the line too soon.

Here's a few of our other club members waiting to start.

Finally the horn is blown and the countdown to start begins.

And we are on our way to a very promising afternoon of sailing.

The weather looked great and we sailed wonderfully for quite sometimes towards our mark which was quite far down the lake.  After an hours worth of beautiful sailing the winds died off and we were sitting around for quite some time.

Here we are sitting in very still waters.  Our friends who were in a different class came by and took this photo of us after they had already crossed the mark at the finish line.  That's me there in the middle of the boat beside my husband who is standing up in the white shirt with the sunglasses.

They were teasing us because they were able to finish before the winds died out and because here we were sitting so close to the finish but unable to move much at all without any wind.  

After sitting here for about another hour or so the race committee decided to call the race as happens in poor weather.  Just look how flat the water is.  Ughh!  As it turned out we actually got 2nd place in our class because we were so close and The Dragon Fly came home with a trophy to boot!  Hoo! Hoo!

After the sail we all went back home and showered and returned to the host club for dinner from Outback steak house and the rewards cermony and dancing.  It was quite a bit of fun as always but unfortunately I did not take any more photos during the evening.  

  

So that's part of how I spent my vacay.  

I may be back again to share a little of my trip with you soon as well.

Hope your having a great weekend too!

Thanks so much for stopping by be sure and let me know if you do!

Sailing into Fall

Hey Yall!  It's Fall! 

I know many of you have been waiting a long time to be able to say that right?  Well now you can!  Woohoo!  Since it's officially now fall and everyone will be getting out their fall decor I'm sure your are going to be seeing lot's of festive seasonal decorating.  You've already seen many of my fall touches around the house but I haven't shown you this one yet.

It's just a tad different from the usual.  For many of you this may not even seem very fallish at all.  But to me, my fall mantle decor not only seems fallish it's reflective of our own personal lifestyle.

  Many of you already know that my husband and I have a sailboat that we keep in the water at the lake.  While most people think of sailing as a summer sport it's actually more of a fall and spring sport around here.  Our summers are incredibly hot with very little wind and not often a lot of fun on a sailboat.  We have a motor boat for the hottest times of the summer but love our sailboat so much that we even sometimes go out during the summer and tough it out.  So I am sure you can imagine how excited we get when the cooler air comes back with fall and the winds pick up a little more.  That is why I just could not remove the sailboat from my mantle decor just yet.

Here's another peek at the little sailboat I found this summer in a consignment store at the beach.  I just love how weathered it looks.  Just like our old boat!  

I decided to remove all the other summer items and bring back these bottles that I bought from work awhile back.  

I thought the colors of these bottles were just perfect for fall, don't you?

When I see these bottles I can not help but think of a few songs for some reason.  I am reminded of the songs, Time in a Bottle, by Jim Croce and Message in a bottle, by The Police.  LOL!  IDK why?  I'm kinda funny like that!

Because I had the glass bottles on the mantle I decided to add my glass pumpkin here too for just a touch of fall.  The pumpkin on the left I have had for quite some time.  After adding it to the vignette, I decided it needed just a bit more.

So I went on a search for another glass pumpkin that was just right and look what I found at Kirklands.  It's blue and green and was just perfect for my mantle.  Sold!

The floral arrangements were another lucky find at another consignment store just recently.  I just loved how they looked and thought the bamboo holders were a perfect fit for us too.

I added the fall leaves to them for a bit more color for the season.

So there you have it friends, this is how I decorated my mantle for Fall this year.  I know I had planned not to change out my mantle for the season but I just couldn't help it.  I am glad I did because it must be bringing me a little more good fortune too.  I am going to be able to be in a regatta with my husband and friends next weekend.  I can hardly wait!

 I hope to share more photos from that with you afterwards too. 

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you enjoyed seeing a glimpse of my own style for fall.

I'll be back again tomorrow with a peek at a few more traditional fall touches.

I hope you are able to get out and about and enjoy this beautiful season too!

Have a great day everyone!

Fall Decor in the Dining Room

Happy Friday everyone!  I hope your weekend is off to a great start.  Mine is all about work again but I have only one more week to go and then I'm off for a vacay.  I cannot wait!

I thought I'd brighten things up a bit by sharing a little more of my fall decorating in the dining room.  So far this year, most of my fall decor has been all about using what I already have.  Now don't read me wrong.  I did not say I haven't bought anything new this year just that I haven't shared much of that with you yet.  LOL!

Welcome to the dining room!

  The cute little sign is one I bought from work when they went on clearance.  I am thinking I may give this sign a little more aged patina if I ever get the time.  So far though, it looks just great to me as is.

Several ceramic pumpkins from last years trip to the dollar tree sit in a painted bread basket...

...next to one of my vases I had on the fireplace mantle.

  I switched those out for another great find.  I will share the fireplace mantle fall decor with you another day.  

My dining room cloche got the fall treatment too.

Do you see what I've caught under my cloche?  

Three adorable little pesky squirrels!

These two on the bottom we inherited from my FIL.  One is a wood carving from an older pastor of their church.  Don't you think they all look so mischievous?  I sure do!

I added the other vase from my fireplace mantle to the top of the dining room china cabinet.  The baskets stay on top of here year round.

I also added the boxwood wreath I made last year and just a small bit of beaded fall garland.  You can see and read the post about my wreath here.

I kind of feel like I would like just a little something else up here but not sure exactly what yet.  So for now, it's working for me.

So there you go!   Just a few more simple vignettes.

Thanks for stopping in.  And a big thank you to all of you who have inspired me to get busy on my own home and pop out the fall decor.  I am really enjoying it!

Have a great day and a wonderful weekend!

Hoo! Hoo! Who are my night owl friends?

Anyone else out there having difficulty sleeping through the night?  I sure have been!  In fact, I am having quite a hard time staying asleep all night long.  I wake up wide awake with my mind racing often around 1:30 or 3:00 am and then just can't get back to sleep.  Very frustrating!

Today I am especially exhausted because I woke up at 1:30am last night and could not get back to sleep to save my life. Then, I had to be at work for a 6:00am truck. Ugh!  I am guessing this has to do a lot with getting older but I am so tired of being restless.    I am not enjoying being a night owl nearly as much as am I enjoying this one.

Isn't this litte fella just the cutest thang!  I found him last week on my day off when I went across town to check out the new Home Goods. Only,  I actually found him at Ross.  Bargain!

I couldn't wait to place him on the washstand outside my front door.

The welcome sign was one of the other items I purchased from Home Goods.

Just look at those googly eyes!  They make me smile!

I've had this arrangement for a few years now and really enjoy that it is holding up so well.  If your thinking you have seen my red metal pitcher before, you have.  In addition to using it outside I also used it for a tablescape for the 4th of July.  You can check that out  here.

I pulled out my fall wreath now too.  It's the one I did a redo on last year.  You can see that post here.

We have even been getting cooler temps now over the last few days too.  Hoo!  Hoo!

  I'm still getting out the fall decor yall.  Fun! Fun! Fun!

Joining Marty at A Stroll thru Life today for

Tabletop Tuesday

Thanks for stopping by again.

Give me hoot!

Hehe!